These Lyrics That Define Us
by only-some-loser
Summary: Some songs can resonate in certain ways for certain people. They have the power to empower us, to make us feel loved, and remember what's important. They stick with us, and make us who we are. These are the lyrics that define us.
1. First Set of Ten Songs

**AN: I decided to do the challenge where you put your music on shuffle and write a different story during each song. Some of them were much more difficult than others, but I think it was a good writing exercise for me. Although there's a good chance I will lengthen many of these into full one shots (which will then be posted as chapters of this), I would like to know your favorites! So please give me a review, and let me know which one you would like to have made into a full one shot. I will most likely post the one voted most highly, first.**

 **I apologize in advance for any errors I may have made. I own nothing but my mistakes.  
**

 **This is cross-posted to AO3 under the name just_another_outcast**

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1\. You Found Me - The Fray

Mac handed Jack one of the two beers he'd grabbed from the fridge, and plopped down into the chair next to him. The sky above them was turning brilliant colors in the sunset.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jack asked. Mac knew what he was referring to. They had gotten back recently from a mission, on which there was a young boy that had reminded Mac greatly of himself in his teen years, which weren't all that long past, as Jack liked to constantly remind him. The thing that Jack could tell Mac was having a hard time with was the way that this boy, like Mac, had virtually no one. His mother was long dead, his father was rarely around, and all he had was one good friend. It was a very similar story to Mac's.

"I'm good," Mac replied, after a few seconds. "But there is something I should say, that I'm not sure if I ever did."

-  
2\. Gasoline - Halsey

"Hey man, I know this is hard, but it'll turn around," Jack said calmly to his very drunk friend.

"You don't know that," Mac slurred. "Is this all there is in this life? Just death, and betrayal, and death, and hardship, and death, and death and death and death and more death?" he continued, nearly shouting when he finished.

They had just finished a particularly difficult mission, and out of all the hostages, there weren't many survivors. All of that, added to the stress of the whole situation with Nikki, and the recent events with Murdoc, were taking their toll on the young agent.

-  
3\. Not Alone - Red

"I thought I'd find you here," Jack said, sitting down next to his blonde companion on the roof of Mac's house, overlooking the fire pit.

"Yeah," Mac muttered in reply.

"Yeah kid, I know you pretty well. Better than you know yourself. So I know why you're up here too. I'm sorry," Jack replied.

Mac looked back at him, his eyes slightly watered. It was the anniversary of his mother's death. That was always a hard day for Mac, but it had gotten easier once he met Jack. Jack always helped him through it.

"I miss her so much, but at the same time, I barely remember her sometimes," he said, with a humorless chuckle.

-  
4\. Ghosts - Prime Circle

It was Thanksgiving, and everyone was celebrating at Mac and Bozer's house, but Riley had managed to slip away for a few minutes. She was now standing alone on the terrace, resting her arms against the railing, looking at the beauty of the Los Angeles skyline.

Sometimes, Riley got so caught up in her new life that she would forget who she used to be. Other times, she would remember, and think of how much happier she was now. She might not admit it to them any time soon, but she knew she was a better person because of her newfound family.

Closing her eyes and sighing, Riley enjoyed the beautiful light breeze across her face. Today was one of those days where her old self seemed to be trying to claw its way into her memory again.

-  
5\. Carry Me - Dead By April

The team of five was settled into the chairs surrounding a fire pit. Beers were shared, as well as stories of times long since passed, and recent happenings. Each member of the team, when not putting in his or her two cents, was thinking about this amazing blessing they had, despite all the madness.

Patricia Thornton looked carefully at each member of her team, even Bozer. Being the woman of steel she was, she would never admit this to them, but they all meant the world to her. She had known Jack the longest, and it was only thanks to him that she even knew Mac at all. The two of them were an inseparable duo, and worked better together than anyone she'd ever met. She may not smile often, but whenever she did, it was usually around them. They always found a way to make her smile, whether it was because of their banter, or them deliberately trying to get a smile out of her, it always worked. Riley, on the other hand, she had known for only a short period of time, but in that time, she had become something of a younger sister to Thornton. Someone to give advice to, and teach in her new life.

-  
6\. It's Over When It's Over - Falling in Reverse

Mac's mind was racing as he drove as quickly as he could to the junkyard where the assassin was pointing sniper rifles at his friends- no, his family. Fear, of course, was very present in his mind, as much as he tried to deny it. All of the what ifs were driving him insane. What if he didn't make in time? What if they were all killed? What if he was killed? Scratch that, he was terrified.

All of his fear paled in comparison to his anger. This man had done the unforgivable. He had put his family directly in harm's way, giving Mac an ultimatum that would most likely end in his death. They had been in dangerous situations before. Plenty of them, actually.

-  
7\. Walls - The Color Morale

Mac wanted to talk to Riley about what had happened, and explain himself to her as to why he had doubted her at all, but he had already briefly mentioned it, and he didn't want to reopen old wounds. Plus, she probably understood anyway.

It was no secret that Mac no longer trusted easily. Strangely enough, he used to be too trusting. Maybe it was his need to fill the voids his lack of a mother and negligent father had left, but Mac used to let anyone and everyone in in an attempt to gain back some of that which he had lost. Although the voids were never filled, and many that he let in ended up hurting him, he was still very open. Meeting Jack had helped a lot. He had finally found someone who loved and cared about him.

-  
8\. SECOND & SEBRING - Of Mice & Men

"You know she'd be very proud of you today," Jack said as he and Mac walked back to the SUV after visiting Mac's mother's grave. Jack had insisted Mac visit her before they left his hometown. Patty had let them borrow the SUV, while she and Riley were shown some of the town's best restaurants by Bozer.

"Thanks," Mac replied. "I hope she is," he continued at a whisper.

"Of course she is man. You've done some absolutely incredible things with your life."

"I know, but still. I just wonder what she would think of me now. Would she like who I've become? Would I have been a different person if she hadn't-"

He stopped. He didn't want to say it.

-  
9\. Wretched and Divine - Black Veil Brides

"Mac this really is a terrible idea. I hope you know that," Jack complained.

"Well they're not gonna stay here forever," Mac replied, referring to the head honchos of the terrorist organization they were after, who happened to all be gathered in the same place, at the same time. "We can't wait for backup. It's now or never that we get them in custody," he explained.

"Yeah yeah, I know," Jack grumbled in response. He checked his firearm, making sure he had a full clip in it. "I'd appreciate it if you would get one of these specifically for situations like this you know."

Mac just rolled his eyes.

"I was thinking I would just knock them all out with something."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

Mac was silent for a moment, looking around them.

"Okay, I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out."

Jack sighed, saying, "better make it sooner rather than later. How about you do something like what you did in Malaysia, with Ralph and the D-77?"

-  
10\. Heart of Fire - Black Veil Brides

Mac was often underestimated because of his age. He was only 21 when he had joined up with DXS, and even then, most agents had mistaken him for a teenager. Often, they would treat him differently, and act like he wasn't up to the task. Once Jack found out it happened, he put an immediate stop to it, but some of the other agents had said some pretty cruel things to Mac. Jack always said it was just because they were jealous of Mac's talent, which was probably true.

This time was no different. Mac had temporarily been assigned to work with a different team. It was only for a single mission, Thornton had assured him, but this particular team had needed an extra agent for reasons Mac couldn't even begin to understand, and he had drawn the short straw.


	2. Heart of Fire

**A/N: On the last installment of These Lyrics That Define Us, I asked readers to vote on which of the challenges I should create a full one-shot out of, and this was the winner! I figured it was high time that I deliver on that. So, without further ado, this is #10 of the challenge, written for the song Heart of Fire by Black Veil Brides.**

 **Okay, I lied, there is further ado. Sorry. (Not really). Shoutout to helloyesimhere for her endless support and love, and the only thing I own are my mistakes. The only Russian word in this story translates to "fine" according to google translate. For the sake of this story, Mac only knows bits and pieces of the Russian language.**

Mac was often underestimated because of his age. He was only 21 when he had joined up with DXS, and even then, most agents had mistaken him for a teenager. Often, they would treat him differently, and act like he wasn't up to the task. Once Jack found out it happened, he put an immediate stop to it, but some of the other agents had said some pretty cruel things to Mac. Jack always said it was just because they were jealous of Mac's talent, which was probably true.

This time was no different. Mac had temporarily been assigned to work with a different team. It was only for a single mission, Thornton had assured him, but this particular team had needed an extra agent for a long list of complicated reasons Mac couldn't even begin to understand, and he had drawn the short straw.

Now, Mac and his temporary team were on their way to Russia to pick up a whistleblower whom the American government had promised immunity as long as he told them everything he knew. The man, by the name of Dmitri Michenov, had valuable intel on a Russian corporation that was looking into bioweapons to use to attack neighboring countries, and basically restart the USSR. Michenov was a janitor in the building who ended up at the wrong place at the right time to hear some information that the corporation now wanted him dead for. Theoretically, getting him was supposed to be simple, but things rarely went simply whenever Mac was involved.

Michenov was supposed to be staying with an informant for his own safety, but the Phoenix agents knew it was good to be prepared for the unexpected. That was about the only thing Mac could relate to the other agents with.

Soon enough, they arrived at the informant's apartment, and all seemed to be peaceful.

"Lee and I will go in and get Michenov, you stay here," Agent Parker said, turning around in the SUV to face Mac, who rolled his eyes.

"What did you even decide to bring me for if you just want me to wait in the car?" Mac replied, more than a little annoyed. He had done literally nothing productive the whole mission. All he really wanted to do at this point was go home and eat some of Bozer's waffles with Jack.

"Look kid, we didn't ask for you to be here, but you got lucky, so you're here. But if anything happens to you, Dalton will kill both me and Parker, so we're not gonna take that chance. So please, stay here, and stay out of trouble. We'll holler if we need you," Agent Lee answered, then quickly got out of the car and closed the door before Mac could say anything, with Agent Parker close behind him.

Mac groaned and let his head fall back against the seat, closing his eyes. It was only a few seconds later that he opened them. Gunshots. Parker and Lee weren't hollering, but Mac figured he should probably do something anyway. He quickly got out of the SUV to get a better look at what was going on inside the small building, but instantly regretted the decision when he quickly came face to face with the barrel of a gun. Mac slowly put his hands up, but glanced inside the open doorway to the apartment. Agents Parker and Lee were both either dead or unconscious, as was Michenov. The man with the gun looked like the informant.

"Get back in the car MacGyver. The front seat. Slowly," the informant said in a thickly accented voice.

Not seeing any immediate alternatives, Mac did as he said, and slowly climbed back into the SUV. The man kept his gun trained on the young agent as he moved around the car into the driver's seat. As he sat down, the man turned to face Mac.

"Keep your hands on the dash, or I'll shoot," the man said. Mac hesitantly did what he said. "Don't worry about your friends in there. They'll all live. But I can't take you all, so it's only you that I'm after. I've done my homework on you, Agent MacGyver. You're one of the most valuable assets of the DXS, and their youngest and brightest agent. I'm sure they would pay a pretty penny to get you back. Much more than they would for the other agents or the whistleblower in there. Besides, even if the DXS won't pay to get you back, there are plenty of other organizations that would love an agent with your skill set, and even some that would pay for you for," the man paused, suggestively looking Mac up and down, "other reasons."

Mac widened his eyes in surprise at what the man seemed to be implying, but he didn't have time to react otherwise. The man quickly flipped the gun in his hand around and struck Mac in the temple with the butt of the gun, effectively knocking him unconscious.

When Mac awoke, he was alone, his head was pounding, he was nauseous, his ears were ringing, and he was very, very tired. Definitely a concussion. Mac tried to breathe through the pain and the nausea, and focus on his surroundings. He was handcuffed to a chair, with his arms behind his back. The chair was almost the only thing in the room. It looked like an old supply closet, with the only evidence left of that being the size of the room, and the shelves that luckily weren't bolted to the ground. The light in the room was on, but dim. There wasn't a conventional light switch, but rather a chain hanging from the bulb. Mac could only assume the door was locked.

Fighting against another wave of nausea, Mac wiggled a post in his watch until it came out, and started fiddling around with it in the handcuffs. Soon enough, he heard the satisfying click that meant he was free. With a slight grin, Mac pulled his hands out of the cuffs, put the post back into his watch, and put the cuffs in his back pocket. Standing was the last thing Mac wanted to do with how nauseous he was feeling, but he knew that would be better than waiting for the man who had taken him to get back. But, he did decide to think about all he knew about him before he did anything else.

The man had been a paid informant, and therein lay the problem. Paid informants were motivated by money. All someone had to do to get an informant on their side was to become the highest bidder. Clearly, he had found a higher payer than the DXS. The man had known all about him, so clearly he had been an informant for the DXS for a while. He had mentioned that he couldn't take all of them, only MacGyver. That probably meant he was working alone, and only had the manpower of himself to help him. Despite his obvious concussion - Mac reached up to his temple and grimaced, feeling the dried blood - he could probably take down one man as long as he had the element of surprise, and maybe a weapon of some sort.

Mac slowly looked around the room, careful to make sure he didn't move his head fast enough to cause even more nausea. He supposed he could pull out the screws on one of the shelves and use the rod as a weapon. Bracing himself to stand, Mac breathed deeply through the wave of nausea, and slowly stood.

' _So far so good_ ,' he thought. He turned towards the shelves - which luckily seemed to be pretty old - and started to pull out the rusty screws. ' _When this is over, I'm getting a tetanus shot_.'

Some time later - Mac couldn't even begin to guess how long it had been with his brain as foggy as it was - one of the rods was free, and able to be used as a weapon. Temporarily forgetting to move slowly, Mac turned and face the door, and instantly regretted it. He immediately found himself unable to fight the nausea, and emptying the contents of his stomach onto the floor. Mac cringed at the sight of it, but was able to pull himself together, and move towards the door, albeit more slowly this time.

The lock appeared to be a simple bar lock, meaning that all Mac needed was something to pick it with. He couldn't use the post on his watch - it was too short. The most obvious tool to use would be the light bulb filament, but that would leave him completely in the dark. Mac figured it didn't matter how well he could see, since all he needed to do was feel what was going on inside the lock. He slowly turned around and pulled the chain to turn off the light. After he had removed the lightbulb, Mac carefully smashed it and felt for the filament. He slowly moved back to the door, and felt around for the lock. Once he found it, he inserted the filament, and carefully maneuvered it around to pick the lock. After a minute, Mac felt the lock turn in just the right direction, and heard the bar slide away.

Before opening the door, Mac pressed his ear to it and carefully listened for possible movement on the other side. After he was convinced no one was on the other side, Mac braced himself for the flood of light his eyes would likely be greeted with, and slowly opened the door. Much to his suspicions, there was no one on the other side. He gripped his rod-weapon and slowly crept along the hallway, pushing down his nausea as he went.

Hopefully Agents Parker and Lee were okay, and had taken Michenov to exfil. Despite their obvious distaste for him, Mac doubted they would willfully leave him behind. If he could find his phone, he could have them track his GPS so he could find his way back to the airstrip.

As Mac slowly made his way down the hallway, he heard the voice of the informant. He couldn't hear anyone else, so he could logically guess he was talking on the phone. The informant was speaking in Russian, so MacGyver couldn't understand most of it, but he could pick out a few words here and there. It sounded like the informant was negotiating a price. Mac could only assume the price was for him.

MacGyver carefully peered around the corner of the hallway of the disused office space, spotting the man that had taken him looking out the large window, talking on the phone as he had guessed. The young agent slowly crept towards the man, the rod tightly gripped with both hands. The informant hadn't noticed him yet.

Just to Mac's luck, when he was about six feet away from the man, the floorboard under him creaked. Loudly. The Russian spun around and yelled something into his phone before dropping it and reaching for his gun. Just as the balding man brought his gun up, Mac swung his rod like a baseball bat, hitting the man square in the wrist and knocking the gun far out of reach. The Russian let out a gasp of pain but quickly regained his bearings. Mac took another swing at the man, but the informant ducked out of the way and lunged towards Mac, bringing them both to the floor. That served to exacerbate the pounding in Mac's head as well as bring his nausea up to an intolerable level. He forced the Russian off him and vomited onto the floor, and, well, onto the Russian as well.

The Russian let out a loud string of curses that Mac couldn't help but smile at. He quickly pushed the rest of his nausea out of his mind, and focused on the task at hand. While the man was still distracted by his disgust at Mac, the blonde grabbed the rod and swung it up to meet the informant's temple, in the same place the man had struck Mac hours - well, Mac actually didn't know how long it had been, but he assumed it had been at least a couple of hours - ago. The Russian came toppling to the floor, and seemed to be unconscious. Mac sat back and closed his eyes for a minute, just to breathe through the pain in his head and his turning stomach.

When Mac opened his eyes again, the man was still out cold. He grabbed the cuffs from his pocket and put them on the informant, behind the man's back. Mac searched through the man's pockets, and found both his Swiss Army knife and his phone, as well as the keys to the SUV, and the key to the handcuffs. He shoved the knife and keys in his pocket, and turned his phone on. Theoretically, his temporary team should have been monitoring his phone's GPS location, and should come straight to his location as soon as his phone turned on again. He pulled up his location, and was able to figure out how to get to the exfil coordinates. His temporary team should meet him on the way. Mac pushed down the fleeting thought that maybe they had left him and gone back to America with Michenov, but he did pull out his phone to call Agent Parker, just to be sure. He took a quick glance back at the informant, who was still out, and brought up Agent Parker's number on his phone.

The phone kept ringing, and ringing, and ringing, but Parker didn't pick up. Mac ended the call with a groan, and tried calling Agent Lee, but achieved the same result. He briefly entertained the thought that maybe they had been killed, but pushed it aside. There wasn't anything he could do about that at the moment. Seeing as there wasn't an alternative, Mac looked again at the map on his phone to exfil, and started on waking up the informant. The man murmured in Russian for a few moments before waking up, but once he did, Mac yanked him to his feet, ignoring the pounding in his own head.

"Now here's what going to happen," Mac said to the man, as he pulled him into a headlock, which was impressive considering that the man had at least half a foot on him. "You're going to bring me to my SUV that you stole, then I'm bringing you back to DXS so you can face some consequences for your crimes. If you try anything, not only will you not get a reduced a sentence for cooperating, but there's a good chance I'll kill you." The man didn't need to know that Mac was bluffing.

"Хорошо," the man grumbled as he stopped resisting.

"Хорошо," Mac sarcastically repeated.

He released the informant from the headlock, but kept a firm grip on his arm with one hand, and the rod in front of his neck with the other. The Russian slowly directed Mac down to the garage of the old building, stopping only twice to vomit.

"Yeah, concussions suck don't they?" Mac told him, with no sympathy.

When they reached the SUV, Mac pressed the man against the side of the car while he undid the handcuffs on only one of the man's hands and opened the door. He shoved the Russian into the backseat of the car, and locked them back into his hands, but around the head of the passenger seat in front of him. Mac then walked around to the driver's seat and got in the car.

MacGyver knew as well as anyone that it's dangerous to drive with a concussion, but he didn't really have any other options at this point. His team was unresponsive, he had a criminal in the backseat, and an exfil location to get to. When Jack found out what happened, he was gonna be pissed. Luckily, the Russian remained silent, and didn't try to escape the whole drive to exfil. Mac didn't often take pleasure in hurting people, but he couldn't help but feel a bit satisfied that the man who had given him a concussion now had to deal with one of his own.

Soon enough, Mac arrived at the small airport, and was greeted with the sight of a van and a small private airplane. Surprisingly, it had only been about three hours since he was taken. When Mac stopped the SUV on the tarmac, both agents Parker and Lee came outside the small airplane and walked down the steps, towards him. Mac got out of the car and went through the process of unlocking and relocking the handcuffs on the informant to get him out of the SUV. He walked toward the two other agents and met them halfway to the airplane.

"Glad you're okay," Lee said unenthusiastically. "And that you got the informant too. Dalton would've had our heads if something serious had happened."

"Yeah we were getting checked out by medical, so it's a good thing you could get here," Parker continued, although both he and Lee looked perfectly fine. "What happened anyway?"

"He knocked me out and took me to some old office building. He was going to try to ransom me back to DXS or whoever else would pay, but I got away, knocked him out, made him take me to the SUV, and drove here, all with only sustaining a concussion. Not so bad for being just a 'dumb kid' after all," Mac replied matter of factly, quickly walking away towards the plane with the Russian in tow. "So yeah, nothing 'too serious'," he muttered, just loud enough so the other agents would be sure to hear him.

The plane ride back was blissfully uneventful. Parker and Lee shot him some guilty glances, but Mac mostly ignored them. Michenov was safe, and the informant was going to prison. Mac insisted he was fine to the medical personnel with exfil, but he knew he wouldn't be able to convince Jack. After all, he still had dried blood on his temple. All he really wanted to do was go home and sleep, but he would have to at least come up with a believable excuse for Bozer as to why he had a concussion.

When Mac arrived back at DXS, Jack was of course waiting for him after debrief. Mac braced himself for the onslaught of questions he was sure to receive.

"Mac what happened out there?" Jack started. "This mission was supposed to be simple; that's the only reason I let you go without me. What happened?" he repeated, reaching up towards the dried gash on Mac's temple.

Mac flinched back from his partner's touch.

"Jack, I'm fine. It's just a concussion. It's not like I haven't dealt with them before," he assured him. "And I can take care of myself you know," Mac grumbled.

As much as Jack hated knowing that Mac had gone through the pain of a concussion multiple times throughout their career together, he knew Mac was right. He knows how to handle one without a medic telling him how. He was also more than capable of taking care of himself, but that didn't mean that Jack wanted him to have to. A team should always have each other's back, and the team Mac was forced to work with clearly did not.

"Still, that's a pretty nasty wound, and I ask not only as your partner but as your friend that you get it checked out to make sure it's not infected. I'm not taking no for an answer bud, and you know better than to question me when it comes to your health," Jack urged.

"Fine," Mac sighed, if only to get Jack off his back about it. "But then I'm going home, and getting some sleep."

"Alright but hold on a second brother. You still gotta tell me what happened in Russia. It was supposed to be very simple. What happened?" Jack asked again.

"Jack it's not a big deal. I'm fine, the bad guy's in jail, the whistleblower's safe, it's all good," he insisted, beginning to walk away.

"Wait a second, what bad guy? Come on Mac, just tell me what happened," Jack said, stopping Mac in his tracks and setting his hands on the blonde's shoulders, effectively stopping him from going anywhere.

"Okay, Jack, I'll tell you, chill out," Mac sighed. "The informant Michenov was staying with turned out to be a bad guy, and he gave me a concussion when he pistol whipped me. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"No, Mac, that's not what I wanted to hear. I don't enjoy hearing about you getting hurt, but I need to hear it when it happens. I also know that's not the whole story, so spit it out kid. You know I'm gonna keep bugging you about it until you tell me," Jack persisted.

"I thought you weren't gonna stop hounding me until I went to medical," Mac pointed out with a knowing look.

"Okay fair enough, let's walk and talk," Jack conceded, swinging his arm around Mac's shoulder as the pair began walking towards the elevator.

As the partners walked, Mac relayed the details of the mission to Jack, starting from when they pulled up to the informant's house, all the way until they touched back down stateside. He made Jack promise not to interrupt until he was done, which proved to be difficult for the man, especially when it came to the other agents' words towards Mac and the informant's threats towards him, but he managed. The two were standing just outside medical when Mac finished.

"I'm gonna kill those two idiots," Jack growled. They were right when they told Mac that dealing with an angry Jack Dalton wasn't fun. He was going to make them regret ever caring so little for Mac's safety.

"Thornton's already giving them a pretty serious reprimand, so I wouldn't worry about it if I were you," Mac replied. He knew how much Jack cared about him, and the lengths he would go to to get revenge on his behalf. "Please, just let it go."

"Fine," Jack grumbled. "But only as long as I get to treat you to Jack Dalton's very own concussion cure," he continued with a sly grin.

Mac sighed.

"It's a Bruce Willis marathon isn't it?"

"How'd you guess? It's the cure for anything man I swear. But hey I'll let you go in there and get checked out, but I'll be right here when you get back. You may have driven in Russia, but I'm not letting you drive home," Jack insisted.

"Fine, fine," Mac begrudgingly went along, and walked through the doors to medical. He often acted like he didn't like Jack's constant mother-henning, but they both knew how much he appreciated it. He may have only known Jack for a few years, but he was the older brother he never hand, and a better father than his own ever was. Mac may have had a fear of the people he loved leaving him - and for good reason - but he knew, deep down, that Jack would never willingly leave. They were brothers until the end, and brothers never leave each other.

 **The End**


End file.
